Liberia’s Mental Health Care a Crucial Need for Improvement

Liberia’s Mental Health Care: A Crucial Need for Improvement By Ernest S. Maximore INTRODUCTON Liberia, a country with 3.5 million population has only one mental specialist, Dr. Benjamin Harris and one psychiatrist hospital, E.S. Grant Hospital, which is not even a public hospital. It is practically nonexistent because of little or no support: wreck facility, lack of more psychiatrists and outpatient service dysfunctional. This is a gross disproportion to the increasing mental health related illnesses budding in a country where citizens suffered 14 years of civil war with increasing post war traumatic mental health problems. It important to note that Liberia is a country whose citizens experienced 14 years of†¦show more content†¦Liberia’s Government only public Hospital, Catherine Mills Rehabilitation Center, was destroyed during the civil war. Mental health care, in effect is practically non-existent in the country. There are no outpatient or inpatient treatment options available at health clinics or health centers, and no psychiatric wards at county hospitals. In addition, there are no specialized services for the developmental and mental health needs of children and adolescents, and no services for other vulnerable groups, such as geriatric patients. There are also no rehabilitation services for alcohol and other substance use disorders or for individuals with deficits and handicaps that result from their mental illness (National Health Policy, Republic of Liberia, 2009). Psychological Impact of the Liberian Civil War There is no doubt the Liberian civil war has had a grave impact on the psychological wellbeing of both combatants and non-combatants as well. The scare of the war continues to resonate in the minds and hearts of direct and indirect victims since little or nothing sustainable has been done to provide relief and treatment as result of the dysfunctional mental health system in Liberia. As one writer puts it, there are many â€Å"walking talkers†Show MoreRelatedGovernment Of Health Systems : Liberia And Sierra Leone8463 Words   |  34 Pagesservices. However, the state of health systems for the last 20 years is difficult to overcome. Liberia and Sierra Leone were each embroiled in civil wars until the mid-2000s. Porous borders and a shared diamond belt meant that their conflicts were often shared, as political strife, violence, looting, armed forces, and refugees moved to neighboring countries. , Guinea in particular was on the rec eiving end of refugees. During that time in all three countries, health systems were uniformly poor, with